


A Fantasy Quartet

by Rosa_Cotton



Category: Donkey Skin (1970), Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, PERRAULT Charles - Works, Peau d'Âne | Donkey Skin - Charles Perrault
Genre: Angst, Baking, Cake, Disguise, Donkey - Freeform, Drama, Dresses, F/M, Fantasy, Inanimate Objects, POV Inanimate Object, Points of View, Rings, Romance, Search, Wealth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28480599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosa_Cotton/pseuds/Rosa_Cotton
Summary: A donkey, dress, cake, and ring share about their roles in the tale of Donkey Skin. Bookverse, 1970 movieverse.
Relationships: Prince/Princess
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	A Fantasy Quartet

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: _Donkey Skin_ , all characters, places, and related terms are the sole property of Charles Perrault.

**Donkey**

Gold donkey droppings, wealth beyond measure.

(Seek not an explanation for this mystery. 'Tis dangerous to unravel the ways of magic.)

Highly exalted am I in the king's stables – nay, in the entire kingdom! ...Until now.

Instead of gold droppings, the mad king obsesses over fantastical dresses for his daughter. I am forgotten.

Suddenly one day he enters my stall. Rather than examine my fresh droppings, or yell about the untidiness of the stall, the king runs his hands over me.

"A fine wedding present it will make!" he cackles. "Kill it and skin it!"

I hee-haw wildly in response to these words. He shall pay with his life for this betrayal.

~~~ 

**Dress**

I sigh, glad to be freed from my mistress's trunk. My smile fades to a frown. This hut is too small and dirty for me to be properly seen and appreciated. The sparkles and golden beams from me bounce off the walls, trapped.

It takes some effort but eventually I successfully push the sparkles beyond the cottage's walls. In the fresh air they twinkle even brighter. A pity there is no one beside the princess to see me—

But wait! There's a figure coming through the trees toward the cottage...a handsome young man. In a burst of energy, I twirl one way and then another, casting bigger, more dazzling sparkles and beams outside. I hope the stranger sees, will admire me!

~~~

**Cake**

I am a love cake, I realize, listening and watching as the princess works. I add my own bit of magic, whispering her name and sweet nothings into my mixture.

(If the prince pays careful attention when he eats me, he will taste my words, and shall become better.)

My lady stirs me well, singing as lovely as a songbird. And yet… There is an underlying tone of forlornness in her voice, a quiet longing shining in her face. Aye, she is in need of a love cake for herself!

Brrr! Something cool lands in me. What is that?

But before I can investigate, I am placed in the oven.

~~~ 

**Ring**

First, I was hidden in a cake, then under a pillow, and now I'm frequently kept on a chain, resting against the prince's heart. Often, he wistfully stares at me. I, too, long for my mistress.

Day after day I am tried on the fingers of all the women in the kingdom. I shrink, I expand. Until finally the last maiden, Donkey Skin, comes and I fit perfectly on her finger.

I am home!

The prince kneels, declaring she shall be his bride. He stares, awed, when the princess's ugly skin falls off, revealing her golden sun dress and smiling face. Leaping to his feet, he takes her into his arms and kisses her.

I sigh. I love happy endings!

THE END


End file.
